LEGAL REGULATION OF THE STATUS OF STATELESS PERSONS IN UKRAINE: EUROPEAN STANDARDS AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATIVE REFORM

Abstract

Introduction. The legal status of stateless persons represents one of the most acute gaps in Ukrainian migration law. As a successor state to the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited a combination of competing nationality laws, administrative gaps, and large-scale population displacement that left thousands of people without legal identity. According to official data of the State Migration Service (SMS), as of 30 April 2024, 5,394 stateless persons were registered as permanent residents of Ukraine and 964 as temporary residents. UNHCR, however, estimates the total number of stateless and persons of undetermined nationality at approximately 35,000, indicating the scale of those who remain entirely outside official registration.

Summary of the main results of the study. The article examines Ukraine's legal framework for stateless persons against the benchmarks of the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, the European Convention on Nationality, and EU member state practice. Five systemic gaps are identified: a critically low practical recognition rate despite the operationalisation of the Statelessness Determination Procedure (SDP) in 2021; burdensome consular certificate requirements imposed through administrative practice rather than legislative mandate; absence of a dedicated statelessness identity document; legislative regression following the September 2023 amendments; and new statelessness risks generated by Russia's systematic passportization policy in occupied territories. Comparative analysis of statelessness determination procedures in Spain, Hungary, Moldova, Latvia and France, as well as the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, serves as the basis for the reform proposals.

Conclusion. Five concrete legislative reforms are proposed: ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in Relation to State Succession; elimination of the consular certificate requirement for SDP applications; introduction of a combined statelessness status identity card; a statutory provision that prior removal orders do not bar the grant of a residence permit to a recognised stateless person; and a facilitated naturalisation track. These reforms are grounded in Ukraine's existing international obligations under the 1954 and 1961 Conventions and are necessary both for human rights compliance and for Ukraine's EU accession agenda under Chapter 23.